The presiding officer the senator from missouri. Mr. Hawley madam president , some months ago, in july of this year, i came to this floor shortly after the conclusion of the Supreme Courts most recent term to lament the ongoing judicial activism, the judicial imperialism that we have seen from this court over this past term and from the Supreme Court for years on end. I quoted the late Justice Scalia who said the imperial judiciary lives, and i said on the floor of this senate it was a shame to say but undeniable that the imperial judiciary continued to live in this country, a judiciary intent, a Supreme Court intent on legislating from the bench, on making up laws that went along with no regard for what the people actually wrote in their statutes or in their laws, and i particularly lamented the position of religious conservatives, people of faith who had seen in this past term for the United StatesSupreme Court decision after decision, tossing aside the concerns of religious conservatives and faithful americans, who had watched the Supreme Court legislate departing from the texas of written laws with barely any concerns about religious liberty. Tossing aside concerns about religious liberty, the effect on religious institutions with one or two lines and opinions. This is what we have been seeing from the United StatesSupreme Court and religious conservatives had come to a place of asking what is it that were fighting for . What is it that we have been working for and voting for all of these years . Is anybody actually listening to us . Do our votes really matter . Those are the questions that religious conservatives were asking in july of this year, and that is why the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States comes as such historic and welcome news to people of faith in this country, to religious conservatives, and to all who believe in the rule of law in america. The nomination of Amy Coney Barrett is truly historic. This is the most openly prolife judicial nominee to the Supreme Court in my lifetime. This is an individual who has been open in her criticism of that illegitimate decision roe v. Wade. This is a nominee who has been open about her faith and her faith commitments and the way she and her husband lived their lives immersed in their catholic faith and raised their children in their catholic faith and want others to have the freedom to be able to do the same. And her nomination and i anticipate her confirmation tonight in just a few hours on this floor will show that there is nothing wrong with any of that. In fact, people of faith should be welcome on the Supreme Court of the United States, people of judge barretts conviction should be welcome on the Supreme Court of the United States, and in just a few hours in the vote of this body, we will confirm that that is indeed the case. And i have to say judge barretts own positions, her convictions give me great confidence that she understands the difference between judging and legislating, that she will not be a judicial imperialist, as i have talked about on this floor in months past. And i said earlier this year that i would not vote for a Supreme Court nominee who did not understand the difference between judging on the one hand and legislating on the other. I would not vote for a judicial imperialist. And i specifically singled out roe v. Wade and said that i will not vote for a Supreme Court nominee who does not understand that roe was an act of judicial imperialism. And indeed i want to see record evidence that the nominee understands that roe was an act of judicial imperialism and understands this difference between legislating from the bench and actually adhering to the constitution and the laws. Well, im proud to support the nomination and the confirmation of judge Amy Coney Barrett because her record makes abundantly clear that she understands the role of a judge, that she understands the role that the constitution assigns to the judiciary. It is not the role of legislating. It is not the role of imposing policy preferences or personal views. It is the role of following the law. And her record indicates that she understands that, that she is committed to following that role, and committing to revive it. That approach, that constitutional approach to judging that she will fight for it and revive it on the Supreme Court of the United States. And so i am delighted to support her nomination. I am delighted to have someone of her convictions. I am delighted to have someone who has taken the stances that she has taken as a legal practitioner, as an academic, and as a judge. And, yes, that includes her position on life, and, yes, that includes her position on roe. And so, madam president , i would just say that tonight we will set a precedent, that people of faith, people of the convictions that judge barrett has and shares are welcome in this country in every office. They are welcome on the highest court in the land, and we need not ask people of convictions to give up those convictions in order to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. We need not say oh, you have to scrub your personal views, oh, you have to pretend that you dont have religious faith or you have to pretend that it doesnt matter to you. You have to renounce your past record. We dont have to do any of that. What weve to ask them to do is to understand the difference between judging and lawmaking. We have to ask them to understand their role that the constitution assigns them. We have to ask them to be committed to following the law. And i am convinced, based on her record, that judge barrett will do exactly that. For those reasons, i am delighted to support her confirmation and i look forward to this historic vote in just a few hours time. I yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from missouri. Mr. Hawley i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Booker madam president . The presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Booker are we in a quorum . The presiding officer we are. Mr. Booker in that case, i would like to vitiate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Booker thank you, madam president. To my colleague from iowa, im grateful. Madam president , i rise today to speak on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. I rise in the midst of a pandemic, in the midst of an election process in which over 50 million americans have already voted, to speak with a simple call that we should wait, we should not be doing this as a body. Now, thats not a radical statement. Its a statement thats been said by pretty much every member on the democratic side. But its also a as i said statement thats made by many people in the Republican Party before we got to this juncture. It was said around the time that Merrick Garland was up for nomination by president barack obama, 269 days before an election, and people said that we were in an election season, that we should wait. But this is not a typical election season. This is an election that is going on where the people are coming out to speak on an array of issues. There is a profound urgency in the air, not a partisan urgency. America has seen record turnout because they know whats at stake in this election. There are issues that are driving people to the polls, and in this context, our president is doing what has never been done before. The only time that this had a chance to be done before was when lincoln had ava can son on the Supreme Court in it the midst of an election, this close it an election, and abraham lincoln, one of our greatest president s of all time, made a powerful choice. He had the power to move, he had the power to nominate, but he showed a restraint on power. He showed in a sense what we would call an act of grace. He knew in the midst of an election when people were coming out to speak it was better to waist. This grace is also what was called for by Ruth Bader Ginsburg on her deathbed. She didnt know who would win this election, but she thought it was best to call to the better angels of our nature that sometimes the greatest demonstration of power is when we do not use it. That this precious democracy, this great experiment that has endured for this period of time has sustained itself on acts of decency and grace. And most importantly on trust, trusting people, trusting americans, trusting voters. Now, we havent always gotten it right, but this fundamental ideal that when people are exercising their voice, the people in this body should listen. Over 50 million americans, we are days, in fact hours away from the actual election day, but the process has started already. People are speaking but we are refusing to listen. And i fear that whats driving many people to the polls are the very issues that this Supreme Court justice will be in a position to hear. We know that donald trump spent the last four years trying to overturn the Affordable Care act. He promised to appoint justices that would overturn it. He promised to do the right thing, unlike bush appointee john roberts, on obamacare. This is clear. We know that the majority leader, mitch mcconnell, controlling this floor has spent years trying to overturn the Affordable Care act. In fact, between the house and the senate, there have been over 70 votes to overturn the Affordable Care act. And we know that there is a case that will come before the Supreme Court on november 10 that could very well determine whether or not over 600,000 people in my state and 20 Million People across the country can keep their Health Coverage. So this is not a secret. The American People know whats going on. They see whats happening here, and many of them, i believe, are going to the polls to speak about the issue of health care. And instead of waiting and trusting to hear and listen to the will of the people, we are here right now. People are scared. We are in a sense walking through the valley of the shadow of death. The fourth largest mass casualty event in the history of our country, and the death rate is rising every single day. Thats why so Many Americans have been speaking out and calling out because they know what this nomination could very well mean for their lives, and for that of their family members. They know what a World Without the a. C. A. Would be like, and for a president to nominate someone, a president hostile to the a. C. A. , a Supreme Court justice who has spoken to this, they know what this might mean. We know that there were 3. 8 million New Jerseyans and 130 million americans who have preexisting conditions. People with diabetes, cancer survivors, people with diseases like my dad had, parkinsons. It could mean being charged more or denied coverage completely. This is a terrifying reality. Folklore going to the polls, waiting hours online, knowing it could mean that once again more people are being bankrupted by outrageous medical bills. They know what it can mean for lifetime caps on care for children with complex medical conditions. They know what it would mean for a family with a child who survived a medical procedure and another medical procedure and another medical procedure, surgery after surgery being told if you want your child to live, pay for it yourself. So Many Americans know what it would mean for seniors not being able to afford lifesaving prescriptions, making the dangerous decision to put bills in half or ration their insulin. So Many Americans know that losing the a. C. A. Could mean real tragedy. New jersey, over 600,000 people losing their health care in the middle of a pandemic that in my state has already killed 16,000 of our first responders, of our neighbors, in many cases our friends and our family members. These are numbers, these are data, these are statistics, but each one is a human life, each one has dignity, each one has family. I know, for example, michelle luris from palisades park, new jersey. When michelle lost her husband, john, suddenly last year, she also lost the Health Coverage she had through his job, but she was able to get coverage through the Affordable Care acts marketplace and qualify for a subsidy that made it more affordable for her. Today she is insured and she can manage her diabetes and her Heart Disease and her auto immune disease because of her coverage. She said that if she lost her Affordable Health care, she would have to sell her home and be in financial crisis. Losing the a. C. A. For merit bowman who is a 49yearold dad with twin boys and a football coach from new jersey, he said that before the a. C. A. Was passed, he didnt even go to the doctor because he was afraid he couldnt afford it, putting his own health in danger. After the a. C. A. , he was able to get affordable coverage. And when he felt sick a few years back, he made a doctors appointment and was diagnosed with diabetes. Today, thank god, his condition has improved, but he said, and i quote, now i have a preexisting condition. My insurance covers my medications, my equipment to monitor my diabetes. If thats taken away from me, whats going to happen . I cant afford those things on my own. I know this reality, we must know this reality, we must listen to americans right now who are saying openly im going to the polls because of my fears on health care. And yet, we are going through instead of waiting to listen to our fellow americans, showing that grace that they should decide, we are rushing forward. Protections that are granted people, those on roe v. Wade. Think about that, decisions that we should let voters decide, we should listen to the American People. What about protections for workers . What about protections for organizers . What about Voting Rights . All of these issues in the midst of an election deserve to be decided by the people. The American People know whats at stake right now because we know that donald trump nominated judge barrett with a very specific agenda in mind. He told us very clearly. We know that donald trump wants the Affordable Care act to be overturned. And he would appoint judges that he believed would do that. We know donald trump wants roe v. Wade overturned. He has explicitly told us that. We know that donald trump wants us to question the validity of an election because he has questioned the validity of an election that is ongoing right now. I never imagined i would have a day in my life as an american citizen i watch other countries, but i never thought in my own, we would have a leader that would question the validity of an election, going as far as to say that if i lose, this election was rigged, it was illegitimate. That does real damage to not just this moment in time, it does damage to our very institutions, our processes that are essential for this democracy. It is dangerous language. The behavior of this president is so dangerous that his own cabinet members, former cabinet members have called it out. I know the strength of our nation, but our institutions must be protected. They must be preserved. The processes that ensure this democracy continues to go on, that our truth goes marching on have to be protected, and when you have a president that calls into question our very election processes, and literally says that if i lose its illegitimate and then says i wont even commit to a peaceful transfer of power. That should raise alarms. Thats why people within his own party, people that served in his own cabinet, people respected in this entire body like general mattis, former secretary of defense, have said that donald trump is a threat to our democracy. And then in that context, in the middle of a National Crisis that were in the midst of an election, and we cant even get a Supreme Court nominee to commit themselves to the idea of the peaceful transfer of power, who the president himself has said he is rushing to the highest court in the land because he believes that this election may be decided by that judge. And that judge wont even commit to recusing themselves under these circumstances. Is that strengthening our democracy . Is that girding trust in our countrys processes, or is it weakening them, because it clearly is doing damage to what is necessary for the endurance of our country and our ideals. These arent just my words. These are the words of people on both sides of americas political divide. And yet, we are not showing restraint in this moment. We are not showing that grace. We are rushing for shortterm gain for one political party, the longterm damage to our nation. I dont understand why this is not something that arises worry and concern. A president who so easily trashes some of the most valued and sacrosanct ideals. I remember the hurt i felt when Peaceful Protesters in Lafayette Park